Sulphonated (PVDF-co-HFP)-graphene oxide composite polymer electrolyte membrane for HI decomposition by electrolysis in thermochemical iodine-sulphur cycle for hydrogen production

Abstract In overall iodine-sulphur (I-S) cycle (Bunsen reaction), HI decomposition is a serious challenge for improvement in H2 production efficiency. Herein, we are reporting an electrochemical process for HI decomposition and simultaneous H2 and I2 production. Commercial Nafion 117 membrane has been generally utilized as a separator, which also showed huge water transport (electro-osmosis), and deterioration in conductivity due to dehydration. We report sulphonated poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-co-HFP) (SCP) and sulphonated graphene oxide (SGO) composite stable and efficient polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) for HI electrolysis and H2 production. Different SCP/SGO composite PEMs were prepared and extensively characterized for water content, ion-exchange capacity (IEC), conductivity, and stabilities (mechanical, chemical, and thermal) in comparison with commercial Nafion117 membrane. Most suitable optimized SCP/SGO-30 composite PEM exhibited 6.78 × 10−2 S cm−1 conductivity in comparison with 9.60 × 10−2 S cm−1 for Nafion® 117. The electro-osmotic flux ofSCP/SGO-30 composite PEM (2.53 × 10−4 cm s−1) was also comparatively lower than Nafion® 117 membrane (2.75 × 10−4 cm s−1). For HI electrolysis experiments, SCP/SGO-30 composite PEM showed good performance such as 93.4% current efficiency (η), and 0.043 kWh/mol-H2 power consumption (Ψ). Further, intelligent architecture of SCP/SGO composite PEM, in which hydrophilic SGO was introduced between fluorinated polymer by strong hydrogen bonding, high efficiency and performance make them suitable candidate for electrochemical HI decomposition, and other diversified electrochemical processes.